When I Get Home You're So Dead
by Amber Cartahall
Summary: There were seven defining moments that, had anyone noticed and added together, could have changed Logan's life. Preseries.


There were seven defining moments that, had anyone noticed and added together, could have changed Logan'slife.

- _As in THE Aaron Echolls?_

"So, dude, this is my sister." Duncan led Logan over to a girl standing at the very top of the bleachers wolf-whistling and cheering for the football match going on below them. Duncan called her name to get her attention.

"Lilly!" And like a flash, all her focus was directed at her brother and his hot _(asatwelveyearoldcanbe) _friend. She smiled, pearly white teeth flashing in the sun, her golden hair shimmering in the heat. "This is my friend Logan! You know, from LA?" Duncan grinned goofily, almost jumping up and down with excitement. Lilly giggled. Logan stuck out his hand, eyes rooted on hers.

"Logan Echolls." he smiled. Lilly did a double-take – which didn't happen often - and shook the proffered hand.

"Lilly Kane." she giggled, a new interest in her gaze. "As in _Aaron _Echolls - THE Aaron Echolls?" she gushed, causing Duncan to frown at her. Logan nodded reluctantly.

"Right." he murmured, and turned his attention to the game, sullen all of a sudden. Duncan bit his lip and glanced at him worriedly, but Lilly didn't notice a thing. Attempting to dissuade her of the further questioning that was soon to come tumbling out of her mouth, he looked down at the pitch and tried to find a tiny blonde figure.

"V playing?" he asked. Lilly rolled her eyes in an expression that clearly said 'duh' at her little brother and launched into a barrage of questions about what it was like to have a movie star as a parent. Logan just nodded mutely, continuing to stare in the direction of the pitch.

Duncan sighed. _(shutup,sis)_

- _Anyone for some Tequila shots?_

The four friends were sitting on the edge of Logan's pool, giggling and playing some stupid game. Lilly was bored, as usual.

"Is there nothing interesting around here?" she moaned, lying back on the patio. Veronica rolled her eyes.

"You wanna play Truth or Dare?" she asked. Lilly snorted.

"Veto." she laughed. Duncan shrugged.

"Uh...We could swim?" he suggested. His sister looked at him like he was an idiot.

"Did that already." she shook her head. Logan splashed her feet with his.

"Anyone for some Tequila shots?" he asked, perfectly serious. Duncan chuckled, half-heartedly.

"Don't joke about stuff like that with Lilly, man." he warned his best friend. Veronica bit her lip, not quite sure if he was for real.

"We're thirteen." she stated, as if that settled it.

"Let's do it!" Lily grinned, sitting upright. Logan shrugged.

"OK, hang on." he jumped to his feet and padded in to the pool-house, careful not to get too much on the carpet. He grabbed a screwdriver from the bedside table and took the cover off the vent.

"What're you doing?" a voice asked from behind him. He turned and stared at Lilly.

"This is where I keep the key to the liquor cabinet," he explained. Logan picked up the aforementioned key and unlocked what looked like part of the wall. He gripped the join between two partitions and tugged until it slid open to reveal what was definitely an impressive collection of alcohol.

"Holy _crap._" Even Lilly was impressed. Logan ignored her, and began to check all the bottles on the lower shelf. Lilly moved closer. "Just pick one!" she said, unable to hide the impatience in her voice. Logan frowned.

"I have to pick the fullest one so my dad won't notice," he told her _(hisdadgetssoangry)_, selecting a deep brown bottle with at least a litre or two of liquid still left in it. "Grab some shot glasses, won't you?" he asked, heading outside already. Lily nodded and picked up four, sashaying after him.

"Oh God, I didn't think you were serious!" Veronica exclaimed. Lilly frowned, peering back in through the door at the spacious cabinet.

"How did you get a key to the warehouse of booze, anyway?" she asked. Logan uncorked the bottle and began to pour.

"My mum gave it to me." he said, watching with amusement as Lilly's eyes turned to saucers.

"No way! Celeste never lets me anywhere near the liquor cupboard..." she sighed.

Duncan bit his lip. _(cozshecares,sis)_

- _ Dad's gonna kill me!_

Duncan headed the ball towards Logan, who managed to kick it back to him.

"And Echolls passes to Kane, who maneuvers around him to a sure goal – victory for the Donu-" the sound of shattering glass cut off the running commentary. Duncan swore and poked the pile of shards that used to be a window with his foot.

"Damn it!" he growled. "Dad's gonna kill me!" Logan recoiled as if he has been punched in the stomach, and for a moment it was as if the sunlight in his eyes had not just been concealed behind a cloud, but had been covered by a horde of happiness-sucking vampire bats _(withfamousfaces)._

"Don't ever joke about stuff like that." his tone of voice was cold, and his hands were shaking noticeably. Duncan stopped and swallowed.

"Sorry, man. I didn't mean-"

"'S cool man, you wanna get something to eat?" Logan smiled, though not without effort.

Duncan nodded. _(whycantihelphim,sis?) _

- _Don't touch me!_

Veronica laughed and dived into the pool, the water parting before her without the slightest hint of a splash. Lilly divebombed after her, soaking everybody else. Duncan followed, fumbling slightly and executing a sort of warped bellyflop and causing the two girls to giggle loudly. Logan just snorted.

"Come on, lovah, aren't you coming in?" Lilly quirked at eyebrow at him, the double entendre obvious _(ew)._ Logan shifted uncomfortably.

"OK." he agreed, and slowly walked up to the edge of the diving board. Veronica frowned.

"Your shirt'll get all wet. Take it off, silly!" She rolled her eyes. Logan mimicked the gesture, but made no move to remove his shirt. Lilly swam closer to the side and hoisted herself onto it. Veronica followed suit and stood up.

"Yeah, lovah-boy, take off your shirt!" Lilly smiled.

"It's really hard to get chlorine stains out of clothes, Logan!" Veronica told him matter-of-factly. "I'm afraid I have to subject you to death by tickling!" She reached out and Logan leapt backwards so fast he could have been a blur.

"Don't touch me!" he yelped. Veronica stopped, looking hurt.

"Well, OK then." she scowled and jumped back into the water.

Duncan watched. _(itswhatialwaysdo,sis)_

- _Huh? Oh, right._

Logan tugged his shirt straight and opened the door.

"Hey guys, now isn't a good time..." he trailed off, glancing back into the house. Lilly breezed past him.

"Ridiculous! Anyway, we need to show you our new outfits so you can tell us that we're hot," she ordered, hurrying upstairs. Veronica followed her and mouthed an apology at him over her shoulder. Duncan gave Logan a wry smile.

"Sorry, dude." he said_. _Logan checked over his shoulder again, and was about to reply when Aaron_(satanfather)_ came out of the study. He grinned at Duncan, although his eyes were hard and cold.

"Well, we'll finish our conversation later, Logan." he told his son, clapping him on he shoulder. Duncan didn't miss Logan's wince, but greeted his friend's father politely and followed the girls upstairs. Aaron hissed a few threatening words into Logan's ear and left for the kitchen. Logan climbed the stairs _(dontstrainyourback)_, opened the door to his bedroom and smiled at Duncan, who grimaced apologetically.

"Sorry about that, man." Both of them knew it wasn't just the girls he was sorry about. Logan acknowledged him and threw himself onto the bed, forgetting until he was halfway down that it would hurt like hell.

"Ho_ly CRAP." _he hissed through his teeth.

"I know, don't I look FABULOUS?" Lilly giggled, coming out of the bathroom. Logan looked up.

"Huh? Oh, right. You look great, Lil." The girl rolled her eyes.

Duncan listened. _(maybeyoushouldtoo,sis)_

_- Dude!_

The girls walked through the halls together, towards the Science block.

"Those Mexican guys are kinda hot, actually," Lilly told Veronica_(beautifulsweetinnocent-sister)_ as they passed Duncan and Logan without a glance, at least on the elder girl_(hypocritebitch)_'s part. Duncan turned to his best friend and grimaced.

"Dammit, this whole breaking up with V is killing me!" he groaned, casting a quick look after the pair. Logan closed his locker.

"So don't do it." he suggested. Duncan frowned.

"No...I have to." He swore again and they began walking to English – the last class of the day that they had together.

"Why do you have to break up with her again?" Logan asked after a few seconds. His friend sighed.

"'S not my secret, man. Tell you later, maybe." he bit his lip _(brosbeforehoes). _Logan nodded. "Sorry about that thing with Lilly, she's a bitch."Duncan told him. Logan nodded.

"Yeah, well."

"That's gotta suck, man."

"So does your thing." Logan pointed out. Duncan nodded.

"At least I'm the one doing the dumping." he sighed, before slinging an arm over Logan's shoulders.

"_Dude!" _Logan stepped away from the impending limb like a fawn from a bulldozer.

Duncan apologized. _(andyoushouldaswell,sis)_

- _Beat me to the punch, hey Lil?_

Logan groaned as the shrill tone of his mobile phone pierced the silence that was his bedroom. He rolled over – gingerly – to answer it.

"Mmm?" he asked into the device. A muffled sobbing came through. He checked the caller ID. "Ronnie? You OK?" he asked, a little more alert now. There was a clunking noise, and suddenly Veronica's dad was on the phone.

"You need to come down to the Kane mansion. Now." he told Logan, his voice wavering. Normally Logan would have argued, seeing as it was almost midnight, but since the Sheriff was there he figured it must be serious.

"Alright. I'm on my way." He snapped the phone shut and hurried out to his car.

Fifteen minutes later, the yellow monstrosity parked itself in the driveway of his best friend's house, and he jogged over to the band of police officers amassed outside the front door.

"What happened?" Logan asked, but before they had a chance to answer, he ran over to Duncan, who was rocking back and forth on a bench, his brow furrowed, and knelt down in front of him. He repeated his question, but got no reaction.

"Where's Veronica?" he asked. The subject of the one-sided conversation appeared at his side, her father holding her close. She was crying silently, tears pouring down her face. Logan stood.

"What's the matter?" He was frightened now. Keith Mars simply pointed in the direction of the pool. Logan stumbled over to the prone body of his first love and made a choking noise that could have been mistaken for a laugh, and swayed as if drunk. He shook his head.

"And I always thought I'd die first. Beat me to the punch, hey Lil?" The moonlight caught part of his _(ex)_girlfriend's brain as he span around and vomited into the nearest plant pot.

Duncan stared. _(whywhywhywhywhywhywhy,sis,why?)_

There were seven defining moments _(rinseandrepeat)_ that, had anyone noticed and added together, could have changed Logan_(theobligatorypsychoticjackass)_'slife.

Only one person ever _(nevernevernever) _did, and he was gone _(stillhere-right?)_.


End file.
